Research & Analysis: Matisse, Painter as Sculptor

The Story:Several major art museums including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Baltimore Museum of Art worked together to present the first major exhibition of the work of Henri Matisse in the United States in nearly 40 years.Matisse: Painter to Sculptor brought together more than 160 sculptures, paintings, and drawings from museums and private collections around the world and revealed to the public the connection between the artist's works from one medium to another.

The Baltimore Museum of Art's extensive collection includes the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world and was a natural choice for the last stop on the tour. In preparation for the exhibition conservators wanted to compare the BMA's bronze casts with other casts by Matisse held in other collections from around the world. They deployed a technical study that would thoroughly and accurately compare the casts without disrupting the integrity of the original works of art. return to full slide show

The Challenge:Digitally capture and inspect two sets of multiple Matisse castings to illuminate the creative process of the artist as a sculptor.return to full slide showThe Solution:

Digitally capture the multiple castings using a Faro Arm and Faro Laser Line Scanner

Process the raw data into 3D digital replicas of each of the sculptures

Align and overlay each set of castings for analysis

Use multiple forms of 3D analysis to inspect the deviation from one model to another

Based on the data and analysis, the BMA made a number of interesting discoveries that give new insight into Matisse's artistic process.The Matisse: Painter as Sculptor exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art ran from October 28, 2007-February 3, 2008.

In addition to enabling important research, the 3D scan data was used in two multimedia presentations supporting the exhibit that were produced by the Imaging Research Center at UMBC. The same data used for the research and presentations can also be used to create high quality replications.
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